1,201 research outputs found
Nonstructural Carbohydrate Reserves of Temperate Perennial Grasses in Autumn Early Growth
The objective of this study was to determine levels of nonstructural carbohydrate reserves of four temperate perennial grasses: Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), Timothy (Phleum pratense L.), Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), and Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) in their early growth stages during the cool autumn temperatures in northern Japan. At the time of sampling, all grasses were in their vegetative stage, and Reed canarygrass was not forming rhizomes. Fructosan concentration in reed canarygrass roots (8.04%) was 22 times that of the leaf blade (0.36%) and twice that of the stem (3.40%); the concentration in reed canarygrass root was the highest of the four grasses. Timothy stored fructosan in the root at a significantly higher concentration (1.65%) than did the orchardgrass (0.58%) and perennial ryegrass (0.83%). The concentration of fructosan in the timothy was the highest in the stem, the lowest in the leaf blade and intermediate in the root. On the other hand, orchardgrass and perennial ryegrass stored the highest amount of fructosan in the stem, the lowest amount in the root, and an intermediate amount in the leaf blade. In addition, the root dry weight and the ratio of the root dry weight to the total dry weight were significantly higher in reed canarygrass than in the other three grasses. Timothy was in second place surpassing orchardgrass and perennial ryegrass. We considered that winter survival is the highest in reed canarygrass and second highest in timothy over orchard grass and perennial ryegrass
Dielectric responses of the layered cobalt oxysulfide Sr_2Cu_2CoO_2S_2 with CoO_2 square-planes
We have studied the dielectric responses of the layered cobalt oxysulfide
SrCuCoOS with the CoO square-planes. With decreasing
temperature below the N\'eel temperature, the resistivity increases like a
semiconductor, and the thermopower decreases like a metal. The dielectric
constant is highly dependent on temperature, and the dielectric relaxation is
systematically changed with temperature, which is strongly correlated to the
magnetic states. These behaviors suggest that carriers distributed
homogeneously in the paramagnetic state at high temperatures are expelled from
the antiferromagnetically ordered spin domain below the N\'eel temperature.Comment: 3 pages, 4 eps figures, to be published in J. Appl. Phy
Magnetic and Transport Properties in (=00.4)
Magnetic and transport properties of () system have been investigated. A broad maximum in M(T) curve,
indicative of low-dimensional antiferromagnetic ordering originated from
layers, is observed in Ca-free sample. With increasing Ca
doping level up to 0.2, the M(T) curve remains almost unchanged, while
resistivity is reduced by three orders. Higher Ca doping level leads to a
drastic change of magnetic properties. In comparison with the samples with
, the temperature corresponding to the maximum of M(T) is much
lowered for the sample =0.3. The sample =0.4 shows a small kink instead
of a broad maximum and a weak ferromagnetic feature. The electrical transport
behavior is found to be closely related to magnetic properties for the sample
=0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.4. It suggests that layers are involved
in charge transport in addition to conducting planes to interpret the
correlation between magnetism and charge transport. X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy studies give an additional evidence of the the transfer of the
holes into the charge reservoir
Wet and dry deposition of mineral dust particles in Japan: factors related to temporal variation and spatial distribution
Recent ground networks and satellite remote-sensing observations have
provided useful data related to spatial and vertical distributions of
mineral dust particles in the atmosphere. However, measurements of temporal
variations and spatial distributions of mineral dust deposition fluxes are
limited in terms of their duration, location, and processes of deposition.
To ascertain temporal variations and spatial distributions of mineral dust
deposition using wet and dry processes, weekly deposition samples were
obtained at Sapporo, Toyama, Nagoya, Tottori, Fukuoka, and Cape Hedo
(Okinawa) in Japan during October 2008–December 2010 using automatic wet
and dry separating samplers. Mineral dust weights in water-insoluble residue
were estimated from Fe contents measured using an X-ray fluorescence
analyser. Wet and dry deposition fluxes of mineral dusts were both high in
spring and low in summer, showing similar seasonal variations to frequency
of aeolian dust events (Kosa) in Japan. For wet deposition, highest and lowest
annual dust fluxes were found at Toyama (9.6 g m<sup>−2</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>) and at
Cape Hedo (1.7 g m<sup>−2</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>) as average values in 2009 and 2010.
Higher wet deposition fluxes were observed at Toyama and Tottori, where
frequent precipitation (> 60% days per month) was observed
during dusty seasons. For dry deposition among Toyama, Tottori, Fukuoka, and
Cape Hedo, the highest and lowest annual dust fluxes were found respectively
at Fukuoka (5.2 g m<sup>−2</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>) and at
Cape Hedo (2.0 g m<sup>−2</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>)
as average values in 2009 and 2010. The average ratio of wet and
dry deposition fluxes was the highest at Toyama (3.3) and the lowest at Hedo
(0.82), showing a larger contribution of the dry process at western sites,
probably because of the distance from desert source regions and because of
the effectiveness of the wet process in the dusty season.
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Size distributions of refractory dust particles were obtained using
four-stage filtration: > 20, > 10, > 5, and > 1 μm diameter. Weight fractions of the sum of
> 20 μm and 10–20 μm (giant fraction) were
higher than 50% for most of the event samples. Irrespective of the
deposition type, the giant dust fractions generally decreased with increasing
distance from the source area, suggesting the selective depletion of larger
giant particles during atmospheric transport. Based on temporal variations of
PM<sub>c</sub> (2.5 < <i>D</i> < 10 μm),
ground-based lidar, backward air trajectories, and vertical profiles of
potential temperatures, transport processes of dust particles are discussed
for events with high-deposition and low-deposition flux with high
PM<sub>c</sub>. Low dry dust depositions with high PM<sub>c</sub>
concentrations were observed under stronger (5 K km<sup>−1</sup>) stratification
of potential temperature with thinner and lower (< 2 km)
dust distributions because the PM<sub>c</sub> fraction of dust particles
only survived after depletion of giant dust particles by rapid gravitational
settling at the time they reach Japan. In contrast, transport through a
thicker (> 2 km) dust layer with weak vertical gradient of
potential temperature carry more giant dust particles to Japan. Because giant
dust particles are an important mass fraction of dust accumulation,
especially in the North Pacific, which is known as a high-nutrient,
low-chlorophyll (HNLC) region, the transport height and fraction of giant
dust particles are important factors for studying dust budgets in the
atmosphere and their role in biogeochemical cycles
Analysis of interdiffusion between SmFeAsO0.92F0.08 and metals for ex situ fabrication of superconducting wire
We demonstrate the fabrication of superconducting SmFeAsO1-xFx (Sm-1111)
wires by using the ex-situ powder-in-tube technique. Sm-1111 powder and a
binder composed of SmF3, samarium arsenide, and iron arsenide were used to
synthesize the superconducting core. Although the F content of Sm-1111 is
reduced in the process of ex-situ fabrication, the binder compensates by
sufficiently supplementing the F content, thereby preventing a decrease in the
superconducting transition temperature and a shrinking of the superconducting
volume fraction. Thus, in the superconducting Sm-1111 wire with the binder, the
transport critical current density reaches the highest value of ~4000 A/cm2 at
4.2 K
Objective and quantitative estimation of the optimal timing for epiretinal membrane surgery on the basis of metamorphopsia
Purpose: To establish an objective and quantitative biomarker of metamorphopsia in epiretinal membranes (ERMs) and determine the optimal timing for ERM surgery.
Methods: Retrospectively, 172 eyes with ERM were reviewed. Retinal folds due to tangential traction by ERM were visualized by en face optical coherence tomography (OCT). The maximum depth of retinal folds (MDRF) within the parafovea was quantified. Metamorphopsia was quantified by M-CHARTS. The change in the distance between the retinal vessels after ERM surgery and the preoperative total depth of retinal folds between the vessels were quantified using en face OCT and OCT angiography.
Results: Significant correlations were observed between preoperative MDRF and M-CHARTS scores before and at 6 months after surgery (r=0.617 and 0.460, respectively; P
Conclusion: MDRF is an objective and quantitative biomarker of metamorphopsia in ERM. To maintain patients’ quality of vision, ERM surgery may be performed when the preoperative MDRF ranges between 69 and 118 μm
NMR study of the layered cobalt oxyphosphide Sr2Sc(Co1-xFex)PO3
We report the results of 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements on the layered cobalt oxyphosphide Sr2Sc(Co1−xFex)PO3 in order to investigate the magnetic properties at low temperatures from a microscopic view point. The 31P-Knight shifts measured at the resonance peak maximum of Sr2Sc(Co1−xFex)PO3 have positive values and are T-independent in an entire temperature range, and the absolute value decreases with increasing Fe content. Also, the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 is almost proportional to the temperature at low temperatures. The magnitude of 1/T1T decreases with increasing the Fe content, which suggests the decrease of the density of states around the Fermi level
Modern Contraceptive and Dual Method Use among HIV-Infected Women in Lusaka, Zambia
HIV-infected women
in sub-Saharan Africa are at substantial risk of
unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections (STIs). Linkages between HIV and
reproductive health services are advocated. We
describe implementation of a reproductive health
counseling intervention in 16 HIV clinics in
Lusaka, Zambia. Between November 2009 and
November 2010, 18,407 women on antiretroviral
treatment (ART) were counseled. The median age
was 34.6 years (interquartile range (IQR):
29.9–39.7), and 60.1% of women were
married. The median CD4+ cell count
was 394 cells/uL (IQR: 256–558). Of
the women counseled, 10,904 (59.2%) reported
current modern contraceptive use. Among
contraceptive users, only 17.7% reported
dual method use. After counseling, 737 of 7,503
women not previously using modern contraception
desired family planning referrals, and 61.6%
of these women successfully accessed services
within 90 days. Unmet contraceptive need remains
high among HIV-infected women. Additional
efforts are needed to promote reproductive
health, particularly dual method
use
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